The invention relates to maintaining a tensioned jump surface on a trampoline.
Trampolines are available in various constructions. Some trampolines include metal frames for support of the trampoline on land. Other trampolines are capable of floating on water and typically include a continuous floatable tube for supporting the trampoline. Regardless of the support configuration, the trampoline usually includes a trampoline mat attached to a rigid metal frame through metal springs. The metal springs hold the trampoline mat taught and provide additional bounce to the user of the trampoline. The rigid metal frame provides the support necessary to maintain a proper amount of tension on the trampoline mat and to allow the mat to flex and spring back without the entire apparatus caving in upon itself. The rigid metal frame is usually made out of steel and is rather bulky and heavy.
A number of bounce apparatuses have been constructed in which there are no springs for holding the mat and there is no frame. Such bounce apparatuses are often referred to as “springless trampolines,” even though they lack the performance of a typical trampoline. One springless trampoline construction is a floatable bounce apparatus that includes an inflated tube, an apron attached to the tube, individual loops of woven webbing stitched to the apron and a bounce mat that includes individual loops of woven webbing stitched to the bounce mat. The mat is secured to the tube by placing the mat loops and the apron loops in an alternating relationship with one another, feeding a cord through the alternating apron loops and mat loops, and tightening the cord to fix the bounce mat in place. In such an apparatus, the close inter-relationship between the interdigitated loops functions to substantially evenly distribute the torsional tension that occurs during use across the entire length of the tube. An example of such bounce apparatus is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,659,914. Such bounce apparatuses lack the spring back, i.e., recoil and snap action, typically associated with backyard or commercial trampolines containing springs. Thus bounce performance is severely sacrificed.